I believe it has been about a year since I last created a Faery Mask necklace. Thankfully my life is beginning to reorient itself around my own art- and jewelry-making again and I'm starting to settle into a new pattern which allows more time for creation.

I've had quite a number of people e-mail and comment about the Autumn Firefox necklace, and while this new piece is not a fox, it is another in the wild canine family. This mask was not originally intended to be a coyote, but it asserted itself in that way nonetheless. If I would have set out to make a coyote Faery Mask, I probably would have wanted his expression to show a bit more levity. That's just not the way it turned out though: 

Coyote Concerned is available for adoption. I also have a few other jewelry pieces available as well as some original ACEOs, etc. at my Etsy shop.

Today has been a good day. I had my harp lesson, then brought a bunch of stuff over to my new apartment and reveled in the idea of my own space. The sun is shining and it is warmer than I was expecting it to be.

When I came home, I had an e-mail awaiting me from WildSide Press with notification that a book featuring my cover art had been published and a shipment of the books would be headed my way shortly. I was not expecting the book to be printed until the summer of this year. Out of curiosity, I searched Amazon for the title, and lo and behold, it is there with my art emblazoned on the cover: Harp, Pipe, and Symphony by Paul DiFillipo. This is my first real book cover, and I feel really accomplished! I feel the graphic designer incorporated my piece very well with the type and overall color scheme. It's especially appropriate that the novel is about Thomas the Rhymer, who has had a profound influence on my own path. I cannot wait to see and read it for myself.

Often we focus on the technical aspects of learning to draw: rendering, shading, perspective, proportion, etc. but if you're hoping to make art that addresses the Faery realm there is also a whole other world to take into consideration beyond the simply technical aspects. This is not to deride technique and matters of craftsmanship as those are the important vocabulary in the language of artistic expression. Someone once wisely asked if you cannot draw what you see with your physical eyes, how can you draw what you see through you inner vision? :) I think that someone can learn to skillfully render the human figure and wings and be able to incorporate them together, but that in itself will not a faery artist make.

The following are some books which I feel would be really helpful to a beginning (or  seasoned) artist which will take you beyond the technical aspects of art.

Art & Fear: Observations on the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking by David Bayles and Ted Orlando
This book is not specifically related to Faery art, but it has a lot to say about the process of making art in general and about the challenges that can often prevent us from making art that is important to us. It is full of really great insights, but isn't a dry read by any means.

Drawing Closer to Nature: Making Art in Dialogue with the Natural World by Peter London
Faeries are intimately tied with the sensual, natural world all around us. This book is a really interesting look at how art can serve as a form of communication between humanity and nature.

The Inner Reaches of Outer Space: Metaphor as Myth and as Relgion by Joseph Campbell
Written by one of the most prominant mythologists of our time, this book contains an espcially relevant essay on the role of the artist as a mystic and shaman.

The Mission of Art by Alex Grey
This book aims to bring art away from its purely intellectual aspects and back towards a spiritual practice.

DeviantART recently added a new feature where you can create collections of various artworks based upon whatever perameters strike you at the time. I've actually been wanting to create some sort of compendium of mythic faery art for some time, and this new feature really suits that purpose nicely. The only issue is, of course, that you can only include art that has been uploaded to deviantART.

Without further adieu, may I present:

Faery: Beyond Glitter and Wings

Don't get me wrong, glitter and wings can be fun. I think just about everyone, including myself, likes to indulge in them every once and a while, and for those of us who need to earn a living based upon our art, glitter and wings do tend to dominate the fairy art market right now. However, there are so many other collections of faery art (not just on DA) in which the glitter and wings are the overwhelming majority, I think it's good to show that alternatives exist.

Well, I finally bit the bullet and joined Etsy. There are so many beautiful, hand crafted things there that I simply couldn't resist any longer. I listed all of my currently available jewelry items there as well as three ACEOs, and if sales there are promising, I may sell all of my future jewelry and craft items there too. We'll see.

Please drop by for a visit!

Phée Adornments on Etsy